“If there’s no deal, then we walk away,” Barack Obama says of Iran and the ongoing negotiations over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. “If we cannot verify that they are not going to obtain a nuclear weapon, that there’s a breakout period so that even if they cheated we would be able to have enough time to take action – if we don’t have that kind of deal, then we’re not going to take it,” Obama said. Beyond that, he says, the West has offered Iran “an extraordinarily reasonable” deal. He’s trying to balance two things in response to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s warning to Congress last week: Appearing to talk tough so as to blunt Netanyahu’s criticism, and rushing a deal because he won’t deign to heed that criticism and change course. Netanyahu responded to Obama’s comments, saying, “Even in these times of sometimes heated disagreement, I think it is useful to remember who your ally is and who your enemy is.” More…